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MEDICAL PHYSICS GRADUATE PROGRAM ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
July 2009
From the Program Director:
Greetings!
I can’t believe it has been a year since the last issue
of the newsletter was published. As you will see in
this issue, the Program has continued to grow. The
viability of the Program is due, of course, to the
efforts of the faculty, staff, and current and former
students. I would like to particularly thank George
Starkschall, Deputy Program Director, and the
members of the Program Steering Committee. In
addition, the efforts of Georgeanne Moore and the
support staff (Carla Stiggers, Elisa Mills, and Nikki
Franklin) who contribute many hours to the
Program are gratefully acknowledged.
I hope you enjoy this fourth issue of the newsletter,
and please don’t hesitate to let me or Georgeanne
know if you have suggestions for future issues.
Please note that the Annual Alumni Luncheon will
NOT be held at the Anaheim Meeting due to budget
constraints and MDACC policies currently in effect.
We will do everything we can to revive the
luncheon next year!
Sincerely,
Ed Jackson
Recruitment Statistics for Admitted Trainees to the
Medical Physics Program for the Last Ten Years:
Year
PhD Program SMS Program
2000
2
1
2001
5
3
2002
5
4
2003
4
2
2004
4
2
2005
4
4
2006
6
5
2007
6
4
2008
10
8
2009
9
6
2009 Applicant Data for the Students Admitted to
the Specialized Masters and PhD Programs:
Program Verbal Quantitative Analytical GPA
GRE
GRE
GRE
SMS
542
748
4.0
3.4
PhD
614
772
4.6
3.6
Members of the Incoming Class for Fall 2008:
SMS in Medical Physics Program
Sarah Joy / University of Florida
Jonathan Mueller / University of Akron
Sina Najmaei / University of Texas - Austin
Emily Neubauer / Yale University
Paige Summers / Santa Clara University
Jackie Tonigan / University of New Mexico
PhD Program in Medical Physics
Joey Cheung / University of California - Berkeley
John Eley / Louisiana State University
Samuel Fahrenholtz / Kansas State University
Austin Faught / Kenyon College
Ryan Grant* / UT GSBS - Houston
Kenneth Homann* / UT GSBS - Houston
Jessica Nute / University of Virginia
Landon Wootton / University of Texas - Austin
Adam Yock / Harvard University
* Deferred admission until Spring 2010
Recent Graduates:
The following trainees completed their degree
requirements in the 2008-09 academic year:
SMS in Medical Physics Program
Maria Bellon -- Medical Physicist, Henry
Ford Hospital
Jimmy Jones -- Medical Physicist, The
Methodist Hospital
Nathan Pung -- Medical Physicist, St.
Peter’s Cancer Care Center
Yevgeney Vinogradskiy -- Continuing on for
his PhD
John Zullo -- Medical Physicist, Advanced
Radiation Physics Services, Inc.
(MS)PhD Program in Medical Physics
MS
Jaclyn Homnick -- Medical Physicist, Kaiser
Permanente
PhD
Michael Price -- Academic Medical
Physicist, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center,
Radiation Physics
Jonas Fontenot -- Academic Medical
Physicist, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center
Malcolm Heard -- Research Intern, MDACC
Radiological Physics Center
Venkata Mogatadakala -- Systems Engineer
/ GE Healthcare
******************************************
Feedback from alumni is always welcomed by the
Program! Please send all suggestions or
comments to [email protected].
Adam Riegel (Mentor: Tinsu Pan)
 2009 Presidents’ Research Scholarship
Award
Sarah Scarboro (Mentor: Rebecca Howell)
 2nd place winner of the SW-AAPM Young
Investigators Competition
Brian Taylor (Mentor: R. Jason Stafford)
 Recipient of the 2009 ACMP Graduate
Student Award (pictured below)
Jenia Vinogradskiy (Mentor: George Starkschall)
 2nd place winner of the SW-AAPM Young
Investigators Competition
******************************************
Honors and Awards During the 200809 Academic Year:
Jonas Fontenot (Mentor: Wayne Newhauser)
 Recipient of the 2008 Aaron Blanchard
Award in Medical Physics
Venkata (Kishore) Mogatadakala (Mentor:
Ponnada Narayana, PhD)
 UT Medical School Dean’s Research
Scholarship Award
Michael (Mitch) Price (Mentor: Firas Mourtada)
 2nd place winner, John A. Cameron Young
Investigators Symposium, AAPM 2008
(pictured below)
Robert J. Shalek Fundraiser 10th
Biennial Fundraiser
Sixty-four M.S. and Ph.D. students have been
supported by fellowships to date. In the current
fundraising cycle, we have received $15,650 from
35 individuals, and $18,000 from corporations and
others for a total of $33,650. The first round of
letters for solicitation of donations for the 11th
Biennial Fundraiser will be going out in September.
If anyone has any questions on how to make a
donation, they may contact Georgeanne Moore at
(713) 563-2548 or by sending an email to:
[email protected].
New Program Faculty 2009-10:
Clearly, the Program cannot succeed without the
commitment of its faculty. We are happy to report
that the following faculty members have recently
joined our Program.
New Program Faculty
Ping Hou, PhD, Assistant Professor, Imaging
Physics
Research / Education Interests:
Imaging processing
Digital radiography/mammography
Pedagogical methods for improving physics
education

Jerimy Polf, PhD, Assistant Professor, Radiation
Physics
Research Interests:
MRI pulse sequence design and implementation
Perfusion imaging
Functional MRI
General clinical applications of MRI
MR procedure quality control

A. Kyle Jones, PhD, Instructor, Imaging Physics
Research Interests:
Proton radiation therapy
Radiation detection and measurement
Monte Carlo simulation of radiation transport
Computational physics
Spectroscopy and spectral measurements
Optical and semiconductor radiation detectors

Donna Reeve, MS, Sr. Medical Physicists, Imaging
Physics
Research Interests:
Optimization of diagnostic imaging protocols
(especially pediatrics) with regards to absorbed dose
and image quality
Phantom design and construction
Radiation dosimeter design, construction, and testing
Image quality assessment
Image processing
Computed tomography, computed radiography,
digital radiography

Thomas Nishino, PhD, Assistant Professor, Imaging
Physics
Research / Education Interests:
Quality assurance testing for magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), mammography, computed tomography, and
ultrasound.
Use of medical images in radiation therapy treatment
planning.
Medical physics and MRI technologist education.

Yiping Shao, PhD, Associate Professor, Imaging
Physics
Research Interests:
Positron Emission Tomography
Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography
Nuclear imaging instrumentation and systems
Multi-modality imaging
Radionuclide imaging techniques for small animal
studies

Annual UTMDACC Alumni
Luncheon
This year has brought many challenges for the
healthcare industry, with declines in patient
revenues due to changes in payor mix and personal
financial challenges and the value of investment
portfolios dropping precipitously. The University
of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center was not
spared the effects of these and other events and took
aggressive action in April 2009 to reduce expenses.
Like the alumni event at the annual AACR meeting,
the Medical Physics Alumni Luncheon was
cancelled for this year due to the financial
constraints. The good news, however, is that the
financial status of the institution is steadily
improving and one of our goals in the coming fiscal
year is to host the luncheon at the 2010 Annual
AAPM Meeting in Philadelphia, PA. We hope to
see you there!
Former Graduate Student and Current
Assistant Professor in the Department of
Imaging Physics at UTMDACC, Dr. R. Jason
Stafford is highlighted in The Messenger.
(Reprinted with permissions from The Messenger,
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer
Center)
Watching Tumors Die
Thursday, April 2, 2009
By Sarah Petrie
Above, from left: Kamran Ahrar, M.D., and R. Jason Stafford,
Ph.D., discuss an upcoming spinal surgery that will use the
Visualase technology. They'll be able to watch the tumor fully
die in near real time during the procedure. Depending on
where the tumor is located, the patient may or may not be
awake during the procedure.
History books show that surgeons began removing
cancerous tumors as early as the second century.
Zoom ahead to 2009, take away the scalpels, scars
and side effects that typically accompany surgery,
and trade them for a tiny laser beam that zaps
cancer dead on the spot. It sounds like science
fiction, but our researchers and clinicians are among
the first in the nation to investigate a new procedure
that does just this … and more.
―It’s called laser-induced thermal therapy, and the
basic theory is that the laser heats the tumor to a
certain temperature to kill it,‖ explains Jeffrey
Weinberg, M.D., associate professor in
Neurosurgery, who’s conducting a clinical trial to
test the effectiveness of this procedure on patients
with metastatic brain tumors.
How hot is too hot for a cancerous tumor? Sixty
degrees Celsius, in most cases.
―The clinical trial targets patients with otherwise
inoperable tumors or those for whom other
treatments failed,‖ Weinberg says. ―This is possible
because tissues surrounding the tumor aren’t
harmed or affected with this procedure — an
advantage over other types of brain surgeries for
cancer, including radiosurgery.‖
Delivering laser energy using a device only
millimeters in diameter, the procedure leaves a scar
no bigger than your thumb. Plus, there should be no
side effects for this less-invasive surgery, which
takes only a few hours from start to finish. ―The
laser portion should only take a few minutes, and
patients will experience no swelling and little pain,‖
Weinberg adds.
Other forms of what also is known as ablation
therapy already are in practice, killing tumors using
heat, cold or electricity. So what makes this
particular procedure so revolutionary? The
physician actually watches the tumor die in real
time, according to Kamran Ahrar, M.D., associate
professor in Interventional Radiology, who has
performed the procedure on a few patients with
bone and spinal tumors as part of a similar clinical
trial.
Weinberg agrees this is the biggest advantage of
this method over other forms of treatment. ―Patients
don’t have to wait weeks or months for tests to
confirm if the entire tumor is gone, as is the case
with most surgeries. Instead, using this technology,
we can convert magnetic resonance imaging into a
color picture that indicates the temperature of the
tissue,‖ he says. ―This allows us to know exactly
when the tumor is hot enough to fully die.‖
How does it work?
Houston-based company Visualase Inc., which sells
the technology, approached M. D. Anderson in
2000 for help with developing the tool. ―For this
procedure to be successful, the doctors must know
the precise location and distribution of temperature
in the tumor and that’s where the physicists come in
the picture,‖ explains R. Jason Stafford, Ph.D.,
assistant professor in Imaging Physics, and lead
consultant on the Visualase technology
development for M. D. Anderson.
In other words, a stereotactic navigation system,
―like a GPS for your brain‖ as Weinberg puts it,
pinpoints the exact location and size of the tumor.
After the surgeon drills a hole and sends the
specially designed fiber directly to the tumor, the
laser is activated, thus heating the tumor. Doing it in
the MRI allows clinicians to monitor temperatures
within the tissue. ―Temperature as well as predicted
regions of complete treatment are color-coded on a
screen, giving us the ability to adjust or retreat a
certain area, as needed,‖ Stafford adds.
And at M. D. Anderson, this entire procedure can be
performed in one room, unlike at other institutions
that also are researching the procedure. We have a
dedicated intra-operative MRI suite, which is safer
for patients than moving them to different locations
to complete the procedure.
Helping One Patient at a Time
Only a few other hospitals in the United States
currently use the technology, which is approved by
the Food and Drug Administration and has been
successfully tested at M. D. Anderson in animal
studies.
Other promising research in Paris shows that more
than a dozen patients who have had the procedure
haven’t seen any re-growth of tumors in those areas
where the Visualase System has been used.
Weinberg is confident in the long-term potential of
the procedure. Once candidates are identified, I
expect there to be a few studies here each month.
GSBS Medical Physics Program
Trainee Presentation Information
for the Upcoming AAPM Meeting
in Anaheim CA
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Joint Imaging/Therapy MOderated Poster Discussion
2:15 – 3:00 PM, Exhibit Hall – Area 3
Adam Melancon In vivo Detection of the Anterior
(SU-EE-A3-4)
Wall Using a Scintillation FluidFilled Rectal Balloon for Prostate
Cancer Radiotherapy
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Imaging General Poster Discussion – Imaging
3:00 – 4:30 PM, Exhibit Hall
Katie Hulme
Quantitative Image Quality
(SU-FF1-9)
Assessment of High-Dose CT
Images Simulated by Averaging
Multiple Low-Dose CT Images for
Prospective CT Dose Reduction
Studies
Triston Dougall Conditions for Practical
(SU-FF-I-159)
Measurement of X-Ray Spectra for
Clinical Radiography of the Chest
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Joint Imaging/Therapy General Poster Discussion
3:00 – 4:30 PM, Exhibit Hall
Blake Cannon
Improving Quantitation in Serial
(SU-FF-J-131)
PET/CT with Improved Image
Registration and Intra-Patient
Metabolic Correction
Adam Riegel
Segmentation of Moving Targets in
(SU-FF-J-175)
PET: Threshold Dependence on
Lesion Size, Motion, Extent, and
Signal-to-Background
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Therapy General Poster Discussion
3:00 – 4:30 PM, Exhibit Hall
Zhiqian (Henry) Quantification of CT Artifact
Yu
Reduction of Second Generation
(SU-FF-T-54)
Intracavitary Brachytherapy
Applicator
Yoshi
Efficiency of Respiratory-Gated
Tsunashima
Synchrotron Based Scanning Beam
(SU-FF-T-132)
Delivery of Proton Therapy for Lung
Daniel
Optimizing Spot Spacing and Margin
Robertson
for Intensity Modulated Proton
(SU-FF-T-150)
Therapy Planning
Sarah Scarboro
Impact of Stomach Size and Position
(SU-FF-T-262)
On Out-of-Field Organ Dose
Georgi Georgiev Comparison of Out-of-Field Doses in
(SU-FF-T-269)
Pediatric Patients from Craniospinal
Irradiations using Photon, Electron
and Proton Spinal Fields
Zhiqian (Henry) Response of One Dose TM and
Yu
TLD100 Dosimeters Over 6 MV to
(SU-FF-T-302)
Pd-103 Equivalent Energies
Ryan Grant
Evaluation of an Anthropomorphic
(SU-FF-T-370)
Pelvis Phantom for Proton
Scott Davidson
Validation and Benchmark of a
(SU-FF-T-444)
Source Model for a Varian 6 MV
Photon Beam using Monte Carlo
Calculations
Douglas
Commissioning a New
Caruthers
Anthropomorphic Spine and Lung
(SU-FF-T-554)
Phantom to Be Used for Remote
Dose Verification of Spine
Radiosurgery
Annelise
Estimation of Uncertainty for the
Giebeler
Patient and Compensator Scatter
(SU-FF-T-625)
Correction Factor in Proton Therapy
D/MU Calculations
Monday, July 27, 2009
Imaging Moderated Poster Session: MRI and Image
Processing
4:00 – 4:45 PM, Exhibit Hall – Area 4
Ryan Bosca
Stability of T1 Relaxation Time and
(MO-EE-A4-1)
DCE-MRI Measures
Monday, July 27, 2009
Therapy Moderated Poster Session: Monte Carlo and
General
4:00 – 4:45 PM, Exhibit Hall – Area 2
Rui Zhang
Calculation of Water Equivalent
(MO-EE-A2-4)
Thicknesses of Materials of Arbitrary
Densities, Elemental Compositions
and Thicknesses in Proton
Radiotherapy
Monday, July 27, 2009
Therapy Moderated Poster Session: Treatment
Planning II and Stereotactic
4:45 -5:30 PM, Exhibit Hall – Area 2
Jason Matney
Is Average CT a Good Estimate of
(MO-FF-A2-3)
Mid-Ventilation Position of
Surrounding Normal Structures for
Proton Therapy Treatment Planning
of Lung Tumors?
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Joint Imaging/Therapy Scientific Session: Modeling
of Intrafraction Motion
10:00 AM – 12:00 Noon, Room 303A
Yevgeney
Evaluating the Accuracy of FourVinogradskiy
Dimensional Photon Dose
(TU-C-303A-1) Calculations with Phantom
Measurements
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Therapy Scienctific Session: Treatment Planning and
Sterotactic I
10:00 – 12:00 Noon, Ballroom B
Ming Yang
In Vivo Measurement of Proton
(WE-C-BRB-1) Stopping Power Ratios in Patients
Using Dual Energy Computed
Tomography
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Therapy Scientific Session: Brachytherapy
Justin Mikell
Comparing a Grid-Based Boltzmann
(WE-D-BRB-2) Solver with Monte Carlo Simulation
for Voxel-Based Therapeutic
Radionuclide Dose Calculations
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Therapy Scientific Session: IMRT II
4:00 – 5:30 PM,, Ballroom B
Yoshi
Precision of Respiratory-Gated
Tsunashima
Delivery of Synchrontron-Based
(WE-E-BRB-3)
Proton Therapy
Selected 2009 GSBS Graduation Highlights
Dr. Weiner welcoming graduates
Dr. Stancel welcomes families and
graduates
Faculty awaiting ceremony to being
UTMDACC, President, Dr. John
Mendelsohn during his welcome
address
Dr. Michael Zigmond, Keynote
Speaker
Graduates awaiting ceremony to being
UT-HSC President, Dr. Larry Kaiser
during his welcome address
Dr. Vicky Estrera, GSBS
Alumni Association President
Jonas Fontenot receives his PhD
Degree in Medical Physics
Malcolm Heard receives his PhD
Degree in Medical Physics
Venkata Mogatakatadala receives his
PhD Degree in Medical Physics
Our sincere thanks to our alumni, current students, faculty, and staff for another
successful year for the Medical Physics Program!
**********************************************
Medical Physics Student Retreat
On Friday, June 26, 2009, the inaugural Medical Physics Program Graduate Student Research Retreat was held.
The retreat was funded by the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Graduate Education Committee (GEC), with the
support of the Executive Vice President and Provost, Dr. Raymond DuBois. The goal of the retreat was to
encourage program students to organize a day-long retreat that would allow them to exchange information
about their individual research projects and to interact with an external leader in the field. This first retreat was
organized by current and former Student-Faculty Liaisons, Yevgeney (Jenia) Vinogradskiy, Adam Riegel, and
Brian Taylor.
Thirty-three students participated in the retreat, which, at the students’ request, did not involve
MDACC/UTHSC-H faculty. The invited speaker and retreat facilitator was Dr. Bill Hendee, current editor of
Medical Physics and internationally recognized as a leader in the field of medical physics. The retreat was
comprised of 14 student presentations and a talk by Dr. Hendee titled ―Research Opportunities and Challenges
in Medical Physics.‖ Each student presentation as well as Dr. Hendee’s address inspired vigorous discussion
among the students.
The feedback from the students and from Dr. Hendee was overwhelmingly positive and both parties felt this
was a great learning experience for the students and should be repeated next year. The Program will pursue
funding for such a follow-up retreat through the GEC, and gratefully acknowledges the support of the GEC and
Dr. DuBois for funding of this year’s inaugural retreat.
Dr. Bill Hendee talking about challenges
and opportunities in medical physics.
2009 Highlights from the Department of Imaging Physics
New Personnel
Faculty
Thomas Nishino, Ph.D., Assistant Professor,
Section of Radiological Physics
Kathryn Peek, PhD, Associate Professor,
Biomedical Engineering
Classified Positions
Colby Anger, B.S., Physics Technologist
Emmanuel Afowowe, B.S., Mgr. Scientific
Computing Resources, Image Processing and
Visualization Lab (IPVL)
Allan K. Lan, PhD, Sr. Research Scientist, Digital
Imaging Research Lab (DIRL)
Joseph Meier, BS, Physics Technologist
Guozhi Tao, PhD, Research Scientist, IPVL
Kimberly Young, Sr. Administrative Assistant
May Wu, MD, Education Coordinator, BME
Research Updates
Funded Grants:
•
NIH/NCI – P50CA083639-08 (PI: Bast,
Development grant: Bankson) : SPORE in Ovarian
Cancer: Novel in-vivo imaging of tumor vascular
structure and function in pre-clinical models of
ovarian cancer, 7/01/08 – 6/30/10, $50,000
•
NIH/NCI – P30CA016672-33 (PI: Mendelsohn;
Core director - Hazle), Cancer Center Support Grant:
Small Animal Imaging Facility, 7/01/08 – 6/30/13,
$802,095
•
GE – SR2008-00023792EB (PI: Mawlawi): Motion
Correction of PET Data using Amplitude Gating,
2/02/08 – 12/31/08, $46,003
•
•
•
•
•
GE – SR2008-00024088EB (PI: Pan): Evaluation of
Helical CT and Average CT in PET/CT Simulation
of the Lung Cancer Patients, 4/1/07 – 4/30/08,
$28,416
Shaw): Flat Panel X-Ray Sources, 2/12/08 –
10/31/09, $136,775
•
MDA-IRG (PI: Shao): Multi-animal simultaneous
PET-MR imaging , 7/01/08 – 6/30/09, $50,000
NIH/NCI – R21CA135315-01 (PI: Sokolov):
Aptamer-siRNA chimera/nanoparticle conjugates for
MRI guided cancer therapy, 7/1/08 – 6/30/10,
$291,534
•
NIH/NCI – R21EB007581 (PI: Shao): SSPM Based
PET Detector Modules for Breast Imaging, 9/15/08
– 08/31/10, $275,000
NIH/NCI – R01EB008101-01 (PI: Sokolov):
Acoustic imaging of sentinel node metastasis using
plasmonic nanosensors, 9/01/07 – 5/31/11, $81,507
•
NIH/NCI – R21/33CA124585-01 (PI: Shaw): A
dual-resolution cone beam CT system for 3-D breast
imaging, 09/01/2007 – 08/31/2011, $1,094,580
Covidien – LS2008-00023708LG (PI: Stafford):
TVT colon tumor model, 7/01/08 – 6/30/09, $74,482
The Department of Imaging Physics received $1,768,316
of extramural funding for research in FY08.
NIST/ATP – 70NANB7H7030 (Subcontract PI:
2009 Highlights from the Department of Radiation Physics
Honors and Awards
Top 10 most-cited papers published in Physics
in Medicine and Biology in 2007 and 2008 –
Newhauser W, Fontenot J, Zheng Y, Polf J,
Titt U, Koch N, Zhang X, Mohan R. ―Monte
Carlo simulations for configuring and testing
an analytical treatment planning system.‖; and
Zheng Y, Newhauser W, Fontenot J, Taddei
P, Mohan R. ―Monte Carlo study of neutron
equivalent during passive scattering proton
therapy.‖
The 2008 Unfors Award of Excellence for the
Best Radiation Measurement Article in the
JACMP – Briere T, Tailor R, Tolani N,
Prado K, Lane R, Woo S, Ha C, Gillin M,
Beddar S. ―Patient dosimetry for total body
irradiation using single-use MOSFET
detectors.‖
U.S. Patents – Firas Mourtada, Patricia Eifel,
Aniju Jingram – Adaptive Instracaitary GYN
Brachytherapy Applicator; and Firas
Mourtada – Automated System for
Formulating.
Provisional Patents – Sam Beddar, Tina
Briere, Louis Archambault – Real time in
vivo Dosimetry Using Scintillation Detectors:
and Sam Beddar, Falk Poenisch, Louis
Archambault, Michael Gillin, Radhe Mohan
– Real-time 3D Dosimetry Using Liquid
Scintillators for Radiation Therapy.
License Agreement – Sam Beddar –
Scintillating Fiber Dosimeter Array.
Selected for Physics in Medicine & Biology
Highlights of 2008 Collection (represents the
very best work published in the journal based
on high praise from referees, the greatest
number of online downloads, and the
outstanding nature of the research presented –
Titt U, Zheng Y, Vassiliev ON, Newhauser
WD. ―Monte Carlo investigation of collimator
scatter of proton-therapy beams produced using
the passive scattering method.‖
Tina Briere, Chester Wang and Oleg
Vassiliev – passed ABR boards.
New Personnel
New faculty since the last AAPM meeting:
Robert Gastorf, M.S. – Sr. Medical Physicist
Patrick Stafford, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor
Promotions:
Peter Balter, Ph.D. – Associate Professor
Tina Briere, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor
Rajat Kudchadker, Ph.D. – Associate
Professor
Firas Mourtada, Ph.D. – Associate Professor
Wayne Newhauser, Ph.D. – Associate
Professor
Catherine Wang, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor
Major Clinical Accomplishments
More than 1,000 patients treated with protons in
over 3 years of operation.
16 slice CT on rails installed in ACB 5
16 slice CT on rails installed in the 2107 room
Practice is now completely paperless and
filmless.
Gamma Knife first patients - June 2009
Vision RT first patients - June 2009
Major Achievements in Radiation Physics
Research
More than 178 peer-reviewed publications
since January 2008 (includes in-press)
NIH/NCR RO1 (PI: Sam Beddar, PhD) Realtime In-vivo Dosimetry in Radiation Therapy
Using Scintillation Detectors.
NIH/NCI R21 (PI: Mark Harvey, PhD)
Secondary Neutron Exposures in Pediatric
Proton Radiotherapy.
Sicel Technologies (PI: Stephen Kry, Ph.D.)
Phantom Measurements and Validation of
High Dose DVS.
Transpire (PI: Firas Mourtada, Ph.D.)
Deterministic Radiotherapy Dose Calculation
Method.
Northern Illinois University (PI: Wayne
Newhauser, Ph.D.) Investigation of Dosimetry
and Late Effects of Receiving Proton Beam
Therapy.
Slane Company (PI: Wayne Newhauser, Ph.D.)
Radiation Shielding for a Proton and Heavy
Ion Cancer Therapy Facility.
NIH/NCI K01 (PI: Rebecca Howell, Ph.D.)
Improving Effectiveness and Accuracy of
Radiation Therapy
NIH/NCI P01 (jointly led by Drs. Radhe
Mohan and Thomas DeLaney (MGH))
Optimizing Proton Radiation Therapy – joint
grant with Massachusetts General Hospital and
U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Radiological Physics Center
Section of Outreach Physics
Radiological Physics Center
Principal Investigator: Geoff Ibbott, 0.63,
Radiological Physics Center, CA 10953, 20052010, $15,893,032 ($3,614,839/year includes
program income generated under the
Additional Cost Alternative)
Principal Investigator: Geoff Ibbott, 5%,
Advanced Technology Radiation Therapy
Quality Assurance Review Consortium, 2 U24
CA081647, Washington University,
7/1/2007−6/30/2012, $409,901 ($81,980/year)
1,641 active institutions now being monitored,
including 33 in Canada and 100 elsewhere in
the world. RPC phantoms have been irradiated
successfully by more than 580 institutions for
IMRT and SBRT protocols. Our experience
still shows that about 1/4 of institutions fail to
irradiate the IMRT H&N phantom according to
their own treatment plans. The RPC recently
began auditing proton facilities. Six clinical
sites have irradiated TLD (including one in
Japan) and a visit has been conducted to one
site.
Other projects within the RPC
RPC staff and students are presenting their work
on the following topics at this meeting. Most
projects are collaborations with staff or faculty in
the Departments of Radiation Physics and
Diagnostic Imaging Physics; at Washington
University, UT Southwestern Medical Center,
Duke University Medical Center, UT San Antonio,
LA Children's Hospital; or at several industrial
partners:
―Response of OneDoseTM and TLD100
Dosimeters Over 6MV to Pd-103 Equivalent
Energies. ‖ Z Yu, R Tailor, G Ibbott, N
Wells, K Prado
―The Radiological Physics Center’s Annual
TLD Machine Calibration Audit and Its Impact
On Clinical Trials,‖ D Followill, J
Lowenstein, L Palmer, G Ibbott
―Optically Stimulated Light Dosimetry:
Commissioning of An Optically Stimulated
Luminescence (OSL) System for Remote
Dosimetry Audits, the Radiological Physics
Center Experience,‖ J Aguirre, P Alvarez, D
Followill, G Ibbott, C Amador, A Tailor
‖Evaluation of a PAGAT Gel for Use in An
Anthropomorphic Phantom,‖ M Heard, G
Ibbott, D Followill, E Jackson, M Salehpour,
A White
―Validation and Benchmark of a Source Model
for a Varian 6 MV Photon Beam Using Monte
Carlo Calculations,‖ S Davidson, J Cui, S
Kry, M Vicic, J Deasy, R White, G Ibbott, D
Followill
―Evaluation of An Anthropomorphic Pelvis
Phantom for Proton Therapy,‖ R Grant, G
Ibbott, N Sahoo, S Tucker, X Zhu, D
Followill
‖Evaluation of An Anthropomorphic Pelvis
Phantom for Proton Therapy,‖ R Grant, G
Ibbott, N Sahoo, S Tucker, X Zhu, D
Followill
―Comparison of Out-Of-Field Doses in
Pediatric Patients From Craniospinal
Irradiations Using Photon, Electron and Proton
Spinal Fields,‖ G Georgiev, D Followill, G
Ibbott, S Kry, J Fontenot, A White, A
Mahajan
―Credentialing for Clinical Trials: The Role of
the RPC,‖ G Ibbott
―Estimate of the Uncertainty in Relative
Secondary Cancer Risk Calculations Following
Proton Therapy and Intensity Modulated XRay Therapy,‖ J Fontenot, C Bloch, D
Followill, U Titt, M Zhang, W Newhauser
―Evaluating the Accuracy of Four-Dimensional
Photon Dose Calculations with Phantom,‖
Measurements,‖ Y Vinogradskiy, P Balter, D
Followill, P Alvarez, A White, G Starkschall
―Performance-Based QA for Radiotherapy:
TG-135 - QA for Robotic Radiosurgery,‖ S
Dieterich, C Cavedon, C Chuang, A Cohen,
J Garrett, C Lee, J Lowenstein, M D'Souza,
D Taylor, X Wu, C Yu
―Requirements and Opportunities for
Maintenance of Certification,‖ G Ibbott, G
Frey, R Morin, S Thomas
―Eye Plaque Dosimetry: Report of the AAPM
Therapy Physics Committee Task Group No.
129,‖ F Mourtada, S Chiu-Tsao, M
Astrahan, P Finger, D Followill, A Meigooni,
C Melhus, M Napolitano, R Thomson, M
Rivard, M Parish, D Rogers, R Nath
Accredited Dosimetry Calibration Laboratory
(Geoffrey Ibbott)
The MD Anderson ADCL successfully
completed a reaccreditation site visit last year as
required by our compliance with the AAPM
accreditation program. The ADCL has acquired
a number of new customers, and several
customers returned this year after using a
different lab.
Late Effects Group (Marilyn Stovall)
Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS), St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 12/1/200611/30/2011 (NCI), $2,368,944
Genetic Consequences of Therapies for
Childhood Cancer, International Epidemiology
Institute, Ltd.(NCI), 9/12/2005-5/31/2010,
$105,200
Support Services for Medical Radiation
Dosimetry for Epidemiology Studies, (NCI),
4/15/2005 – 4/14/2010, $1,869,540
Breast Cancer, Radiation Exposure and the
ATM Gene, Memorial Sloan Kettering (NCI),
4/1/2008 – 3/31/2013, $415,683
Heart Disease Following Cancer Treatments of
Children and Young Adults, Vanderbilt
University, 4/1/2009 - 3/31/2014, $522,066,
pending
Radiation Dosimetry Services (Marilyn Stovall)
Over 1,000 active institutions. Services offered:
check of machine output for photon and electron
beams, check of absorbed dose for stereotactic
radiosurgery, and check of blood irradiators. We
have been processing checks of IMRT in
collaboration with the Radiological Physics
Center but these services will become totally
controlled by them once a company center is
established for them to handle the billing and
receivables for these services.
Education (Starkschall)
Postdoctoral Fellows
Since the last report, several postdoctoral
fellows have completed their appointments and
gone on to further their careers.
 Louis Archambault, PhD (Beddar)






joined the staff of the Department of
Radiation Physics as a Computational
Scientist
Junfang Gao, PhD (S Zhang/Mohan)
entered the medical physics residency
program at Scott and White Clinic
Mark Harvey, PhD (Newhauser) joined
the faculty of the Department of Physics,
Texas Southern University
Xioaning Pan, PhD (X Zhang) entered
the medical physics residency program
in the Department of Radiation Physics
in 2009
Falk Pönisch, PhD (Beddar) entered the
proton fellowship program in the
Department of Radiation Physics
Xioafei Song, PhD (Shiu) entered the
proton fellowship program in the
Department of Radiation Physics
Zhonglu Wang, PhD (Salehpour) has
taken on a clinical position in Fall River
MA
Several new fellows have joined the Department
this past year:
 Aman Anand, PhD, who received his
PhD in Applied Physics from the
University of North Texas, has joined Dr
Gillin’s group
 Luis Perles, PhD, who received his
PhD from the University of Sao Paolo,
has joined Dr Titt’s group
 Sharmalee Randaniya, PhD, who
received her PhD from the University of
Houston in Nuclear Physics, has joined
Dr Howell’s group
 Lilie Wang, PhD, who received her
PhD in Medical Physics from Carleton
University, has joined Dr Beddar’s
group on the graduate program’s T-32
grant
 David Klein, PhD, received a PhD in
Physics from Oklahoma State
University, and has joined Dr Beddar’s
group
We welcome all our new and returning postdoctoral
fellows.
Medical Physics Residency Program
Two of our residents are completing their
training this summer.
 Melinda Chi, PhD, will be joining a
private medical physics consulting
practice in the Houston area
 Colleen Schinkel, PhD, is still
finalizing a position for this fall
We wish Drs Chi and Schinkel success in their
careers, and all of our residents a rewarding training
period
Moving into the second year of their residency
program are Heng Li, PhD, Julianne Pollard,
PhD, and Xin Wang, PhD.
Competition has increased for positions in our
residency program. We had almost 40
applications for the two open residency
positions this year.
The Department welcomes the following two
new residents into our program
 Heetak Cheung, PhD, is receiving a
PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the
University of Florida
 Xioaning Pan, PhD, completed a
postdoctoral fellowship at MDACC
Proton Fellowship Program
We have begun a Proton Fellowship Program under
the direction of Dr Narayan Sahoo. Two of our
former postdoctoral fellows have entered the
program, Falk Pönisch, PhD, and Xioafei Song,
PhD. This program, to our knowledge, the first of
its kind, is designed to provide specialized clinical
training to physicist interested in proton radiation
therapy. We wish our new follows the very best of
success in this pioneering effort.